Shriners Children’s Open
Luke List made a 43-foot birdie to emerge from a five-man playoff to win the Sanderson Farms Championship last weekend. List, at pre-tournament odds of 50-1, picked up his second career PGA Tour victory in the playoff over Ludvig Åberg, Ben Griffin, Henrik Norlander and Scott Stallings.
Griffin, the overnight leader by three strokes, despite shaky play for much of the final round, held a two-stroke lead with just three holes to play after many of his rivals failed to finish off their challenges. However, Griffin couldn’t finish it off either after he bogeyed 16 and short-sided himself on 18. His par putt from 8 feet, 3 inches on the final green to win by one agonizingly floated over the right edge of the cup.
This week, the PGA Tour heads to Las Vegas, Summerlin to be exact, for the Shriners Children’s Open. Tom Kim (11-1) returns as the defending champion and as the tournament favorite. Åberg (14-1) was tantalizingly close to earning his first PGA Tour victory a month after picking up his first win on the DP World Tour at the Omega European Masters.
Cam Davis (22-1) finished third last time out at the Fortinet Championship and had finished top 10 or better in four of his last five starts. South Koreans have won this event in two consecutive years — Tom Kim in 2022 and Sungjae Im in 2021 — and Si Woo Kim (25-1) will attempt to become the third in a row.
J.J Spaun (33-1) is a regular participant in this tournament. Those at 35-1 include J.T. Poston, who finished T-4 here in 2017, Nicolai Højgaard, who like Åberg is just two weeks removed from a triumph in the Ryder Cup, Tom Hoge, who finished T-4 here last year, and Eric Cole, who has made 12 consecutive cuts dating back to the Memorial.
At 40-1 are Adam Hadwin, who has four top-10-or-better finishes here in just seven appearances, Adam Schenk, who was T-3 here in 2021, and Andrew Putnam, who has been 11th and 12th here the last two years.
Former champions in this week’s field include Tom Kim, 2009 and 2020 winner Martin Laird (100-1), 2014 winner Ben Martin (200-1), 2013 winner Webb Simpson (100-1), and 2012 winner Ryan Moore (200-1).
One other notable in the field this week is LPGA Tour star Lexi Thompson, who is listed at 5000-1 at Caesars Sportsbook, and playing this week on a sponsor’s exemption.
The Event
The Shriners Hospitals for Children Open was founded as the Las Vegas Pro Celebrity Classic in 1983. At the time, the event had the highest purse on the PGA Tour at $750,000. The field will be playing for a slightly larger total purse of $8.4 million this week. The tournament was originally a 90-hole event before going to 72 holes in 2004. Many fans will know this event as the Las Vegas Invitational, which it was named from 1984-1999. It was also the site of Tiger Woods’ first PGA Tour win in 1996 when he defeated Davis Love III in a playoff. The tournament boasts an extensive list of major championship winners including Woods, Jim Furyk, Fuzzy Zoeller, Curtis Strange, Greg Norman, Paul Azinger, Davis Love III, Webb Simpson and Bryson DeChambeau.
Before TPC Summerlin took over as sole host in 2008, a variety of Las Vegas courses were played in the event, including TPC Las Vegas, Bear’s Best, Southern Highlands, Desert Inn (now Wynn), Las Vegas CC, Las Vegas National, Spanish Trail, Showboat (now Wildhorse) and Sunrise (now Stallion Mountain). Shriners Hospitals for Children took over event operations in 2007.
There will be 132 golfers in the field with 500 FedExCup points and a two-year PGA Tour exemption on the line. The cut line on Friday will include the top 65 and ties.
The Course
TPC Summerlin plays host this week. The course is located at the base of Red Rock Canyon in the community of Summerlin, which is about a 20-minute drive west from the Las Vegas Strip. The track was designed by Bobby Weed and Fuzzy Zoeller in 1991. It plays as a par-71 of 7,255 yards.
There are 92 bunkers (seventh most on tour) and four water hazards (in play on four holes.). TPC Summerlin is an exposed desert track with very few trees. The Bermuda fairways are of average width (34 yards) but undulating. The Bermuda rough is only about 2.25 inches high, so it’s not hard to gouge out of it, but it will take away the ability to spin approach shots closer to the pins. The course is a rare combination of Bermuda fairways and rough to go along with Bentgrass greens. The only other course on tour with that combination is Colonial Country Club, home of the Charles Schwab Challenge. The greens are large (7,400 square feet average, fifth largest on tour) and of modest speed (11.5 stimpmeter).
The track plays at around 2,700 feet of elevation (highest on tour), so the ball flies about 3% further than if at sea level and the course plays shorter than its listed distance of 7,255 yards not only because of the elevation but the firm fairways.
In 2018, all bunkers underwent strategic realignment, improved contouring and drainage, and new sand was installed.
Over the last five years, TPC Summerlin is the sixth-easiest course on tour at 1.98 strokes under par (not including 2018 when there were abnormally high winds). Three years ago, this event set the PGA record for the lowest cut line in PGA Tour history at 7 under.
The par-5s are typically reachable in two shots. Due to the course’s elevation, that also includes the 606-yard 13th hole. The par-3s are a good mix of lengths measuring from 168 yards to 239 yards. Six of the 11 par-4s are between 420 and 450 yards and rank among the easiest group of par-4s on tour.
The final four holes typically provide an exciting closing stretch. The 15th features a driveable par-4 at 341 yards. Hole 16 is a risk/reward par-5 that is reachable in two shots while the 17th is a dangerous par-3 that features water on two sides. The final hole is a strong par-4 that sits at 444 yards. Overall, there is a ton of swing potential for scoring in this stretch.
Correlated courses to TPC Summerlin include TPC Scottsdale, PGA West Stadium, TPC San Antonio, Waialae, Colonial, Silverado and CC Jackson.
Recent History
2022: Tom Kim (-24/260); 22-1
2021: Sungjae Im (-24/260); 30-1
2020: Martin Laird (-23/261); 225-1*
2019: Kevin Na (-23/261); 70-1**
2018: Bryson DeChambeau (-21/263); 14-1
2017: Patrick Cantlay (-9/275); 20-1***
2016: Rod Pampling (-20/264); 300-1
2015: Smylie Kaufman (-16/268); 250-1
2014: Ben Martin (-20/264); 225-1
2013: Webb Simpson (-24/260); 20-1
2012: Ryan Moore (-24/260); 14-1
2011: Kevin Na (-23/261); 60-1
2010: Jonathan Byrd (-23/261); 50-1****
Playoff win over Austin Cook and Matthew Wolff – *
Playoff win over Patrick Cantlay – **
Playoff win over Alex Cejka and Whee Kim (high winds & no player with all four rounds in the 60s) – ***
Playoff win over Martin Laird & Cameron Percy (hole-in-one on third playoff hole) – ****
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